LVL UP – Soft Power (Stream)

by Steven Spoerl

LVL UP’s Hoodwink’d is suddenly all just about anyone can talk about. There’s a very simple reason for this, too- and it’s name is “Soft Power”. Following a few outstanding lo-fi releases for the increasingly influential Double Double Whammy label, the song takes all of the band’s best qualities and pushes them to their absolute limit. From the lilting vocal melody to the shards of gritty lo-fi punk riffs that slice the song wide open, all of their hallmarks are present. What differentiates this from their past work is the way it’s presented. Jangling guitar work’s married with a more confident, drawn-out structure. Explosive sections are no longer brief, they’re played for maximum impact and build momentum instead of abruptly cutting it off at the head (a trick they used expertly on songs like “*_*“). All told, the New York band’s truly emerged with what’s likely to stand as one of the year’s best songs by the time it draws to a close- and, at this point, it’d be a shock if Hoodwink’d didn’t live up to that promise as well.

Listen to “Soft Power” over at the band’s bandcamp and pre-order Hoodwink’d from Double Double Whammy here.

[…] “Soft Power“, “Ski Vacation“, “DBTS“, and “I Feel Ok” all hinted at LVL UP excelling as a complementary unit that would easily function when stripped back to individual elements. Balancing on the precipice between detached apathy and unbridled energy, the band’s songs came to weird, vibrant life in the live setting. Everyone traded off vocals with a casually practiced ease and a fiery commitment. True to Space Brothers‘ form, several of the songs bled into each other- with a particular highlight (one of a very large handful) being the opening trio of tracks from that very record. In fact, much of their set played out like a contained suite, with everything retaining maximum impact. […]